Snow Shoeing Clinic

The clinic began with an introduction to the history, anatomy and sizing of snowshoes. The participants chose from a selection of modern and traditional snowshoes for their hike along Pushaw Stream. Sunshine, just the right snow conditions and numerous sightings wildlife signs made the snowshoe hike an entertaining practice run!

Introduction and practice of snow shoeing. No experience necessary. Bring shoes if you have them or reserve a pair by calling Hirundo at 394-2171. Meet at the Parker Reed shelter, accessible through Gate 1. Additional information available: 394-2171 or web@hirundomaine.

Full moon paddle – Beaver Moon Paddle

Saturday, November 4, 2017 – 4:45 pm

The moon was a little slow to reveal its brightness, thick clouds low on the horizon, hid its usually spectacular rise. Beaver sightings and splashing were plentiful, most we have ever seen. A great finale for the paddling season! Thanks for everyone involved.

Check back in May 2018 for a new series of Full Moon Paddles at Hirundo!

The Perseid Meteor Shower is among the best meteor showers during the year with 50+ meteors per hour. The greatest number of meteors occur in the morning of August 12. Join us, behind the Emera Astronomy Center in Orono, to watch this annual spectacle on August 11th or August 12th (rain date), weather depending. Bring your chair, or blanket & pillow, non-alcoholic beverage and wishes.

Shawn Laatsch, Director of the Emera Astronomy Center and M.F. Jordan Planetarium at UMaine astro.umaine.edu, will give a guided Constellation Tour as part of the introduction to the Perseids. Do you want to know more about the night-sky? Follow Shawn’s Blog Eye on Maine Skies

We will set up an insect trap to attract night-flying insects such as moth and beetles. An entomologist will be at hand helping you to identify the nocturnal insects.

Reserve your place under the stars by August 9th. Space is limited Click here to register Suggested donation $5 adults, $3 children under 12.

Perhaps you are interested in the upcoming Solar Eclipse? The Emera Astronomy Center offers a program about the phenomena of eclipses “Totality -Explore the Wonder of Eclipses”. Why not combine both programs! More information: Event Calendar

Take a 1-hour trip into the world of spiders with your guide, Donne Sinderson.

Donne is an amateur arachnologist and Maine Master Naturalist, that started learning about spiders four years ago. She will introduce the different types of spiders, how their survival strategy differs and then head out to look for them in field, forest and around buildings.No experience necessary but curiosity required.

Wednesday April 19, 2017 6:30 – 9 pm

Get hands-on experience in mini workshops about grafting, pruning of small fruit crops, growing micro greens and flower arrangement. Workshops are on a 30 minute rotation schedule beginning at 6:30 pm and ending at 8:00 pm. GardenPartyPoster

About the workshops

Herb Crosby took up grafting 10 years ago and keeps his backyard as a grafting laboratory. The workshop offers an overview on grafting, including different type of grafting techniques, tools and materials and scion for your tree at home. How to prune small fruit and apple trees will be the focus of Kirby Ellis. Ellis is the owner of Ellis’ Forest Management & Greenhouse /Nursery in Hudson. Kate Garland will discuss how to increase nutrition and flavor of your meals with homegrown micro greens, young edible greens that can be grown right at your windowsill. The workshop centers on choosing, planting, maintaining and harvesting micro greens. Each participant will take her/his planting home to enjoy. Garland serves as the Horticulturist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Penobscot County by helping gardeners improve efficiency and build horticultural skills, and coordinates the Master Gardener Volunteer program. Young gardeners will have an opportunity to learn about worm composting with Master Gardener Pat Bears hands-on demonstration.

Refreshments and silent auction items

For more information or to request a disability accommodation, please contact Gudrun Keszöcze at web@hirundomaine.org or 207.944.9259.

Many small woodland owners have wildlife as a major focus in forest management objectives. Dr. Blomberg presents his experience with ruffed grouse in varied forest habitats.

In 2014 the Wildlife Demographics Lab at the University of Maine and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife began the first large-scale investigation of ruffed grouse ecology in Maine. Over three years we have captured and radio-marked hundreds of grouse to better-understand their survival, harvest, and general habits throughout their annual cycle. During this talk I will discuss preliminary results from the first three years of our work.

Directions: Take Route I-95 North or South to Old Town exit 197 . Travel in easterly direction toward Old Town. Turn left at the DeWitt Airfield entrance. Turn right at the sign for the Maine Forest Service.

Registration is requested by April 5, 2017. Please respond by e-mail to Larry Beauregard, SWOAM Penobscot Valley Chapter Leader, at redspruce@myfairpoint.net or by phone at (207) 989-6158.

What & How: We will be working on the trails north & south of Rt.43. The work will include removing blow downs and cutting back vegetation with hand tools. No experience necessary.

Are you or is your group looking for a way to support the community?

Please let us know if you are coming by no later than April 21. This will help us provide snacks and plan for trail groups. We hope you can join us for the day, or for a half-day, morning (8:30 am – 12 noon), or afternoon (12:30 – 3:00 pm). Call at 394-2171, web@hirundomaine.org, orclick here to register

Please dress for the weather, bring a lunch, loppers or small handsaw, if you have them. The ground could be damp, so sturdy footwear would be good. Bring lunch and water. If you have hand tools like a small hand saw or brush loppers, bring them along. Meet at the barn – directions available upon arrival.

Directions from the South: Take the I-95 N. Take the ME-43 exit 197 to Old Town/Hudson. Go 0.3 mi to the end of the off ramp, and turn left onto Rt. 43 (Hudson Rd). Go west 4.75 miles and look for the large red sign (Gate 1) on your right (north side of Rt. 43). Enter at Gate 1, follow gravel road 0.5 miles to the Pine Tree Parking area. Please park there and look for the signs to the barn.

June C. (née Dabritz) Larouche died at the Maine Veteran’s Home in Bangor, Maine, on February 21, 2017. She enjoyed 92 years of life, the last half at her beloved Hirundo Wildlife Refuge.

June came from Buffalo, NY, where she worked at Sylvania. She moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts, where she worked as a librarian at the GTE/Sylvania facility in Needham, Massachusetts. At Needham, she met Oliver Larouche (d. 1996), and they were married shortly before their retirements from long careers at GTE. They moved to Old Town, Maine, where they developed the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge as a non-profit organization along Pushaw Stream, expanding it to over 2,000 acres. In 1983 they deeded the Hirundo land to the University of Maine, cementing a long-term collaboration.

Oliver and June funded research on fish, birds and mammals, transforming Hirundo into a living laboratory. Naming the refuge Hirundo, the Latin word for swallow, Ollie lined the open fields with scores of tree swallow nest boxes and the Pushaw Stream with wood duck nest boxes. The Parker Reed Shelter provides a forum for meetings and gatherings. At Hirundo the public is encouraged to accept “Nature on its own terms.”

June leaves her close friend and caregiver Holly Cullen of Hudson, Maine, her nephew Dean Chagnon of Maryland, and her beloved dog Lydia and four cats. With no memorial service at her request, June was interred at the Lawndale Cemetery on April 25. Memorial donations are welcome to the Hirundo Wildlife Trust (P.O.Box 266, Orono, Maine 04473), where they will be applied to the Larouche Family Fund for such purposes as student internships at Hirundo, thus continuing the life’s work of Oliver and June.

You never strapped on snowshoes before and are curious how it all works? Sign up for this two hour session and explore the Refuge with the Hirundo’s naturalist.
Limited number of adult and children snowshoes available.
Call 207-394-2171 for reservations by Saturday, January 14.
Cost: $5 per person

The Larouche family of Hirundo Wildlife Refuge (HWR) in Old Town is one of five finalists for the annual People’s Choice Award of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental organization.

Several generations of the Larouche family acquired more than 2400 acres in Old Town, along Pushaw Stream. The family decided to share their property with the community, initially for passive recreation, wildlife rehabilitation and more recently, to become a leading environmental education center that offers seven miles of trails, a fleet of canoes and active, diverse educational programs for individuals, families and children. Area schools, home-schooled children, scouts and local recreational programs are among those who frequently visit the Refuge.

The Larouche family established a trust fund and deeded the property to the University of Maine. A staff person, volunteers and active HWR Board of Trustees manages the reserve for the benefit of the community.

Plans are underway to create a fully accessible trail so that seniors and people with disabilities will be able to enjoy HWR.

To vote for the Larouche’s four generation, multi-decade commitment and efforts to enrich Maine’s wild heritage and education through Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, go to the NRCM website: www.nrcm.org and click on The People’s Choice Award or click here Vote-for-nrcms-2016-peoples-choice-award/